An irrigation system may for certain users be used on a daily basis, depending of the user's need. This is for example the case for people suffering from spinal cord injuries, spinal bifida or multiple sclerosis. The system is used to improve quality of life by preventing constipation, reducing time spent for bowel emptying procedures and increasing independency.
Various systems are known in the art.
A simple system widely used e.g. at hospitals, constitutes a bag that is elevated above the person to have the trans anal irrigation. The bag is via a tube connected to a catheter, which is inserted through the anus into the rectum. The liquid in the bag is inserted into the person due to the difference of height between the person and the bag, causing a pressure difference. A drawback of this very simple system is that in or to make the system work the bag must be elevated to a position above the person in order to obtain the wanted pressure difference.
A system that overcomes this problem is disclosed in US2005/0148954A1. The apparatus disclosed in US2005/0148954A1 is designed to provide a colonic lavage with the capability of providing manually controlled pulsation to the lavage liquid or medicaments through the use of a manual pump. The apparatus comprises a speculum that is configured and sized to be inserted into the patient's rectum. A delivery line is secured to an inlet of the speculum. The delivery line is secured to the inlet of the speculum. The manual pump is disposed in-line with the delivery line and connected to the second section. A male connector and female connector interconnect the delivery line with the lavage liquid reservoir. A first valve is operably connected to the delivery line and allows liquid to flow from the lavage liquid reservoir to the speculum. Also an alternative valve construction is disclosed where the manual pump operates a valve inline with the delivery line such that operating the manual pump opens and closes the valve, thereby pulsating the lavage liquid into the colon of the patient. The apparatus further comprises a drain line connected to the speculum at an outlet. The drain line is in flow communication with a mouth of the speculum, so as to allow liquids and material washed from the colon to be drained through the speculum.
Even though this invention overcomes the need of positioning the bag in an elevated position, this is a rather complex system that facilitates both the insertion of the lavage liquid into the person as well as draining of thereof, and it requires a lot of operations to be performed.
Other systems are disclosed in US2006/0009732. One of the systems is designed to provide a colonic lavage with the capability of providing manually controlled pulsation to the lavage liquid through a manual pump. The manual pump can be a conventional in-line squeeze bulb. In an embodiment, a check valve, can be disposed in-line with the supply conduit or the manual pump.
It is an object of an embodiment of the present invention to provide a simple system that is easy to use. Moreover, it is an object of an embodiment of the present invention to provide a system wherein the elements of the system are not accidentally disconnected during use.
Furthermore, it is an object of an embodiment of the present invention to provide a system, which is ready-to-use for the patient so as to reduce the time spent with the irrigation as its parts need not be assembled by the user. Moreover, it is an object of an embodiment of the present invention to provide an irrigation system, which may be provided to the user in a compact configuration.
Additionally, it is an object of an embodiment of the invention to provide a system, which may be disposed after irrigation whereby the user need not clean the system upon use. Moreover, it is an object of an embodiment of the invention to provide a system, which is discrete, compared to known systems.